Starting Over Pt 10 Ch 02

Starting Over X, Part 2

This is the tenth section of the continuing saga "Starting Over".

In Part I, LTC (Retired) John Jackson had moved to Seattle after being widowed. He ran into some trouble and some decent people (okay, and a few strippers), while working towards getting his private investigator license. That took place between Sep and Dec 2012.

In Part II, he got involved in a ring trafficking in young women. The main perpetrators were captured, but the hired gun/enforcer slipped away. That took place in Apr and May 2013.

In Part III, which took place in 2013 and 2014, John managed to find the enforcer in Key West and was planning to kill him, but changed his mind. He really didn't know if he could kill someone in cold blood, but the man was living with a woman and had decided that he was retiring. John let him go with a promise to do intelligence work for him and returned to Seattle, where Maggie gave indications that she wanted a serious relationship. Then he used that enforcer from Key West to assist in capturing an assassin. The assassin had been hired to kill him and the detective who helped him break up a leg of a human trafficking chain.

In Part IV, it's 2019. John and Maggie couldn't work things out and now John was working on a case that, at first, involved someone who had assaulted Luke's wife Maria. John then had two men try to break into his apartment to attack him. The authorities caught the two men by tracking them to a strip club, but John got beat up by them before the police got there. When he woke, he found that Vanessa, his waitress at the strip club, was an undercover officer. There were several events that were taking place and it was being done by an anarchist group. However, funding for these events was tracked to someone in human trafficking in Singapore by a hacker that John found through Bob in Key West. He returned to Seattle with the information on a thumb drive, and the FBI and others started tracking him. Finally, the master of the human trafficking ring had his son try to soft sell John's daughter into visiting Asia with him, primarily to kidnap her. John found out, he and his buddies stopped it, and then John, feeling the rage, flew to Singapore and, with the backdoor assistance of a government person, was armed and killed both the leader and his son of this trafficking ring.

In Part V, Yvonne, the young hacker came to live with John. She had nowhere else to go and felt so alone during the pandemic that she was craving human interaction. She also admitted that she was attracted to John, even though there was 19 years difference in their ages. A bad guy was hired to hit him due to his involvement in some operations being run by a rogue CIA manager and some disenfranchised CIA members. John and company got them in the end and Yvonne got shot in the leg. She decided to stay with John.

Part VI involved a woman, going by the name Julie, who had been "hidden" by a woman called a "guide". She had been given a new identity and moved to Seattle to get away from a potentially fatal relationship. That was back in Tennessee. This led to the woman's guide, Dani, discovering that the brothers of the husband that Julie had killed, were running meth labs out of the woods of the land that Julie and her husband had owned. They were worried about losing the land and the labs. This ended up with the labs being pointed out to the FBI, and then one of the brothers and one of their dealers coming to Seattle to get revenge on John and the FBI agent in charge of the case back in Tennessee.

Part VII involved John and the others getting involved with a Romanian gang out of Chicago. It turned out to be more than that, including Maggie and others getting shot. A party at the Bradford's was interrupted by gunmen shooting randomly into the gathering. Finally, in the end, law enforcement got the bad guys and the good guys got someone who turned evidence. Maggie was recovering quickly, and as summer arrived, John was hoping for good weather and a calmer life.

In Part VIII, John got involved in a kidnapping that turned into an international trafficking ring, and included a place where people could abuse young women. It was led by a billionaire, Lucas Berenson. John lost his wife, Maggie, when Lucas sent people to kill John, Maggie, and all the members of the detective agency John worked for. They tracked down Berenson in Canada and he was captured. Yvonne went to work legally and is living with John.

In Part IX, John and his partners are asked to protect a woman that Dani had hid, who had run away from one of Berenson's operations in Miami. Two bad FBI agents attempted to intercept them, but Deputy Director Smothers was ready. The two were captured, the woman returned to her former life, and John and friends got information that Berenson escaped to St. Martin. They followed him there, with assistance, and then to Guadeloupe to get the authorities to recapture him.

Recurring Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 56 years old.

Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old, died 15 Jan 2012

Angelica Jackson (Angel), John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 29 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 44 years old.

Margaret (Maggie) Bradford, Mary's sister, 5'6", 115, 45 years old.

Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 16 years old.

Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 49 years old, John's former neighbor.

Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 29 years old, and now an exotic dancer using the name Lily

Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 27 years old.

SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 56 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.

Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 54 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.

Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Maria Cole, 5'6", 135, Luke's wife.

Jeanne (aka Jasmine) Welch, 5'5", 110, 31 years old, exotic dancer.

Olivia, 5'4", 120 pounds, 31 years old, called Livy, exotic dancer.

Max Meridian (real name Harold Johnson), Mark's lead kidnapper and enforcer. Now changed his name to Bob Thomas and is married to Susan. They own and operate a bar in Key West.

Susan Thomas, Bob's new wife.

George Watson, a new member of the detective agency.

Vanessa Williams, 5'6", 130, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Yvonne, 5'2", 105, illegal hacker who helped find the human trafficker who had funded the anarchists in Seattle.

Danielle (Dani) Parker, 5'8", 120, known as a "guide". She takes cases where an individual is in mortal danger and "hides" them by giving them new identities and teaching them how to lay low.

Benjamin Smothers, Deputy Director of the FBI.

Allison June, 5'7", FBI agent in Seattle.

---------------- Previously, Wednesday, Sep 27, 2023, Tullahoma, TN -----------

Finally, about 7pm, Bob called. "Hey. Online now. Pretty good WIFI here at the Chanticleer Inn B&B on the mountain."

"That's great. I was there with my first wife and daughter many moons ago."

"Yeah, it's fun." There was a pause. "Okay, here's something. One job was posted about two weeks ago for someone near Huntsville, Alabama. Additional information would have been provided separately. I can see that someone with the username of StrikesFast took the job. It paid... let's see... $30,000. That's about all I can tell you."

"Listen, how well is that website monitored for people logging in?"

"It's not. If you know where it is and have a userid and password you can get in. But they purposefully don't track anything or anyone. No logs or anything. In another week, this job will be removed and never seen again. They don't want any kind of trail. Oh, wait!"

"Yes?"

"A new job just popped up. It's for a woman and two men in Meridianville, Alabama. There's a little information and a picture of the three. It's you and two others. Someone wants you dead and is willing to pay $100K for it."

---------------- Thursday, Sep 28, 2023, Meridianville, AL -----------

John and George had discussed who might want them dead after learning about the contract from Bob. This morning, John called Robertson and told him about it. Robertson wanted his source, but John demurred and told him it was a confidential informant. Robertson wasn't happy, but agreed to put some surveillance on Carla Rivera. He didn't say anything about protecting John and George.

John continued to think about it. What reason would anyone have to put out a contract on the three of them? Maybe there's something that Carla knows that she is unaware of. Or maybe Enrique put something away and she knows where he hides or stores things, but isn't aware of the importance. She certainly didn't seem like someone who would hide something related to her husband's death. And her daughters could be collateral damage, which she wouldn't want.

But John and George? Why put out a contract on the them? They knew nothing about what was going on, although they found the stripper informant. But if it was related to her, then why put out a contract on the three of them? John was confused.

John called Yvonne and she answered immediately, "Be there shortly."

John was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I just arrived and got in my rental car. I'll be at the hotel in about 30 minutes."

"Why did you come down here? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I can do that from anywhere that I get a decent signal. I checked, and your hotel lets you hook up via ethernet for $15 per day. If I need any classified support, I can get on a SIPR machine at Redstone Arsenal."

John grinned. "Okay. I'll wait here."

"Also, I got the pictures of the three people under contract. George is not one. It's Carla, you, and Craig. I called Craig and passed along the information. He is taking steps to stay safe in Seattle."

"Okay, good. See you soon."

John sat on the small settee of the suite he was in. He had plenty of cash stashed from a couple of previous cases, so he wanted to be comfortable. Now, he was glad he got the suite, with Yvonne coming it would be nice to have room. Especially since she came, usually, with two laptops and a large suitcase. He turned on the TV and watched the local news.

Yvonne arrived about 45 minutes later. She called and got his room number and came up.

When John let her in, she pulled her large suitcase over to the side, put down a computer bag, and surprised him by leaping into his arms. He caught her, grinned, and kissed her. "I'm glad to see you, too."

When John put her down, Yvonne looked over at the bed. She headed that way and started taking off her clothes. "First things first. I've really missed you and I need a quick bout of sex or I can't think straight."

John chuckled and started undressing. He looked at the clock. "We have to meet George downstairs for lunch in an hour."

Yvonne, now naked, jumped onto the bed. "Oh, this won't take that long." John admired how her skinny frame from when he first met her, had filled out. She was still thin, but had a great ass and tits.

And it didn't take long. John lay on top of Yvonne and kissed her. She put her legs around John as they kissed, waiting for him to get hard. It didn't take long. Yvonne was a beautiful woman, a great kisser, and John was in love with her.

John slowly worked his way down her body, past her nice tits with big rosy nipples, to her pussy, where he proceeded to lick her to two quick orgasms. Yep, Yvonne was definitely horny.

John then crawled up over her, Yvonne seated his cock into her opening and they fucked until they both came.

John rolled over and looked at the clock. He turned his head toward Yvonne and said jokingly. "Well, that took 20 minutes. What shall we do with the rest of the time we have before we go to lunch?"

Yvonne rolled against John putting one arm and leg over him. "I'm going to bask in this feeling of having great sex that sated my horniness. I might even nap."

"Not now. We have work to do, so get dressed." He gave her a playful smack on the ass.

Yvonne sighed. "A few more smacks like that and I might be ready for another round."

John stood and looked down at her with a smile. "You forget you're working with someone in his mid-fifties."

Yvonne got a salacious grin. "Yeah, but I know how to wake your libido."

John laughed. "Yes, you do." He leaned over and kissed her quickly. "But, for now, we need to get dressed and meet George. We need to go over how we stay safe and protect Carla."

Yvonne slowly rolled to a sitting position and stood up. "Slavedriver," she said with a childlike pout.

They got ready and met George for lunch. They went over what might be going on, but could come up with no reason John and Craig were on the kill list other than spite. Of course, that's always possible. Some criminals are not known for logical thinking. They tried to take precautions as they moved around and studied everyone around them. John and George were armed.

After lunch, they headed over to the FBI office to meet with Robertson. The meeting didn't go well.

Robertson, Nicholson, and a couple of others, who were rudely not introduced, met with them in a conference room. It had the same décor as the last one they were in with pictures of the chain of command and some tired looking furniture.

Robertson started. "We have two men watching Mrs. Rivera at this time. I have a lot of cases going on right now, so I don't know how long we can continue this."

John took a deep breath. "Well, have you gotten anything out of the guy who was selling the secrets?"

"No. He completely clammed up and asked for his lawyer. His lawyer is some high-priced guy from Nashville. We've gotten nothing from him."

"Who's the lawyer and who's paying him?"

"Name's Clinton Magnuson. Real expensive, very accomplished. No idea who's paying him."

"Have you tried finding out?"

"Can't right now."

"Wait. This is a national security case and you can't get permission to find out how some high-priced lawyer can be afforded by a fairly low paid government civilian?"

"No."

"Well, I can find out. I'll get the information and pass it along." John said it matter-of-factly, not trying to raise anyone's hackles. But it did.

"You can't do that. It's illegal." Robertson was raising his voice.

John gave Robertson a scathing look. "Did I say I was going to do anything illegal to get it? It's probably not that hard to find out. I'll let you know."

"No, I can't let you do that. Stay away from this case or I'll arrest you for obstruction."

John was getting pissed at Robertson now. "I'm sorry, but are you forgetting that someone put a contract out on me and Craig as well? We are going to do everything we can to protect ourselves."

"How do I know that other than you said so."

John was getting a very rankled now. He stood up. "Well, I can see that this meeting is over. My friends and I will do what we have to do to stay safe. You guys plod along and see if something important falls in your lap, but I doubt it."

Robertson stood quickly, his chair falling backwards onto the floor, and raised his voice some more. "I'm serious. I'll arrest you."

"As soon as you can prove I've obstructed anything, you go ahead. Until then, just keep Carla safe and we'll worry about ourselves."

Robertson was breathing heavy now. "And I only have your word that Carla needs to be protected. I can't protect her forever."

John was livid now. He walked over and stood directly in front of Robertson, no more than a couple of feet from him. "If you want to keep your job, you'll do your job and protect her. If I find out that something happens to her because you dropped her protection, you'll never be rid of me. I'll make it my life's work to ruin you."

Robertson stared directly back. "Don't threaten me. I can arrest you right now for that."

Suddenly, Nicholson was moving. He faced John and worked his way in between the two, holding his hands up. He said, very calmly. "John, take it easy. I think it's best if you leave right now and we'll work on this case. Just go."

John stared over Nicholson's shoulder at Robertson for a few more seconds and then turned on his heel and headed out. George and Yvonne were right behind him.

When they were gone, Nicholson turned to Robertson. "What's the matter with you? I know this is a difficult case, but we do have to do our jobs, and one of them is protecting Carla."

Robertson rubbed his hand over his short brush cut. "I know, I know. He just rubs me the wrong way."

Nicholson grinned. "And vice-versa. But remember it's our job to protect people like that. No matter what you think, we protect Carla."

John, George, and Yvonne went back to the hotel. They had some more research to do.

Yvonne started checking out the guy, Clinton Magnuson, who was representing the government worker selling secrets. She was able to find out some information, but not much. She then called Deputy Director Smothers and asked him to put someone on it. She had to explain about Robertson and Smothers was definitely pissed. She asked him not to call Robertson and make things worse; just to get their experts on it to find out the information they needed about the government worker and who was paying Magnuson.

While Yvonne was on the phone, John was reviewing the area surrounding the Rivera residence on a map and satellite photos. It would give him an idea of where to check it out on the ground to find the access points. Then they could plan some kind of defense if the FBI deserted her.

Smothers called Yvonne back with the information on the government worker, and Yvonne started using the accounts she had at the same banks where she had created backdoor entries to see if she could find any payments to the government worker, John Chen. While the government was looking, so was she.

John Chen was of Chinese descent, but the family had been in the U.S. for three generations. Was he working for the Chinese? Being blackmailed? Did he have too much debt or something that was being used against him?

She couldn't get into all his accounts, but she had set up back doors at the banks where she had set up personal accounts for herself. She found one strange entry for a deposit of $10,000, but that was it. There had to be more. The transfer came in from a small company in Belize. She found that it appeared to be from an LLC owned by a Chen Li. Hmm. That, in itself, was suspicious for a government worker.

Yvonne put all the information she found and forwarded it to Deputy Director Smothers in an email, and then sent him a text alerting him to it.

By then, it was 6pm, and John, George, and Yvonne all gathered for a quick meal. They did so carefully, in the hotel restaurant. They discussed some things there, and then the more sensitive items when they went back to John's suite. They were not sure where this was going, or why, but would continue to dig into it.

---------------- Washington, D.C. -----------

Smothers waited for his contact, Jake Rivers, over in the CIA to come on the line. It was a secure telephone call and he had requested Jake to call him at 6pm.

"Ben, how are you?" Jake came onto the line.

Ben got right to the point. "Not good, Jake. I have some disconcerting information and I need your assistance on it."

"Oh." Jake paused. "Well, what's the deal?"

"Jake, I have an operation going on in Alabama, near Huntsville, where a government civilian was stealing secrets from the Missile Defense Agency and selling it to a foreign entity. My folks found out this morning that you guys have put a Chen Li up, in exchange for him providing information on a human trafficking ring. This guy, however, is somehow behind the blackmail and purchase of these secrets."